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George Radford

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Sir
George Radford
Member of Parliament
for Islington East
In office
1906–1917
Preceded byBenjamin Cohen
Succeeded byEdward Smallwood
Personal details
Born
George Heynes Radford

17 June 1851[1]
Plymouth, England
Died(1917-10-05)5 October 1917
Chiswick House, Ditton Hill, England
Political partyLiberal
Alma materLondon University

Sir George Heynes Radford JP (17 June 1851 – 5 October 1917) was an English solicitor and Liberal politician. He was a member of parliament for Islington East from 1906 to 1917.

Family and education

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Radford was born in Plymouth,[2] the eldest son of George David Radford and Catherine Agnes Heynes.[3] He went to London University to study law, where he graduated Bachelor of Laws with honours.[4] In 1882, he married Emma Louisa Radford, the daughter of a Justice of the Peace. They had four daughters and a son; Barbara, Katherine, Cecily, Ursula and George Lawrence.[5]

Career

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Radford was admitted as a solicitor in 1872.[2] He joined the firm of Radford and Frankland which had its offices in Chancery Lane, eventually becoming senior partner.[3]

Politics

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Radford was first involved in London local politics. He was Progressive Party member for West Islington on the London County Council from 1885 to 1907.[6] In the 1906 general election he became MP for Islington East, a seat he went on to hold, albeit by small majorities, until his death in 1917.[7] Radford always took a prominent part in London County Council elections and was for two years Chairman of the Council's Parliamentary Committee.[2]

Other appointments and honours

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Radford served as Chairman of the National Liberal Club Buildings Co. Ltd and was a Vice-Chairman of the Club.[8] He also served as a Justice of the Peace in Surrey, where he had his home at Ditton Hill, now part of Surbiton. He was knighted in the 1916 Birthday Honours.[2]

Transport

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Radford had a particular interest in transport in London and a passion for tramways. He noted the advanced use of trams in Budapest and led a British Parliamentary delegation to Hungary in 1906. In 1908, the first cross-river tram in London departed from Holborn Station and it is believed that Radford was responsible for the honour of the maiden trip starting in Islington.[6]

Papers

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A collection of scrapbooks of news cuttings, notices, posters etc. donated by Miss U Radford in 1975, documenting Radford's career is deposited in the London Metropolitan Archives .[9] A collection of documents including correspondence, books, photographs, campaign flyers etc. belonging to George Radford and several family members is deposited in the Islington Local History Centre Archive.[10]

Publications

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Radford had an interest in literature and published occasional verses and essays. In 1894 he wrote Shylock and Others a selection of eight literary studies (published by T Fisher Unwin) and in 1917 he published Verses and Versicles (T Fisher Unwin). But he also had an interest in Shakespeare. In 1884, the Liberal politician Augustine Birrell published a collection of essays entitled Obiter Dicta (Elliot Stock). Radford had anonymously written one of the essays, on Sir John Falstaff, and this was made public in 1887.[11]

Death

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Radford died at his residence, Chiswick House, Ditton Hill on 5 October 1917, aged 66 years.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Debrett's House of Commons, and the Judicial Bench. Dean & Son, Limited. 1915. Retrieved 29 April 2019. George Heynes Radford, son of the late George David Radford, of Plymouth; b. June 17th, 1851
  2. ^ a b c d e "Obituary". The Times. 8 October 1917. p. 11.
  3. ^ a b Who was Who; OUP online, 2007
  4. ^ The Times, 31 January 1872 p12
  5. ^ Islington Local Heritage Centre. George Radford collection.
  6. ^ a b Thomas Lorman (Summer 2011). "Trams below ground... ...the Hungarian connection" (PDF). Journal of the Islington Archaeology and History Society. 1 (2).
  7. ^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918;Macmillan, 1974 p23
  8. ^ The Times, 8 October 1917 p11
  9. ^ "RADFORD, Sir George Heynes (1851-1917)". aim25.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  10. ^ "George Radford Collection". islington.adlibhosting.com.
  11. ^ Birrell, Augustine, Obiter Dicta, Second Series, p.v (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1887) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2023).
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Islington East
19061917
Succeeded by